Coexistence
by shimeishan
Summary: One day, a man claiming to be Rihan  appears at the Nura mansion, presenting Rikuo with a chance he thought he'd never have again - to spend time with his father. However nothing is as simple as it seems and the man could very well be an impostor...
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Disclaimer:

Nurarihyon no Mago © Shiibashi Hiroshi - The characters don't belong to me, I'm only using them to write this fanfic.

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><p><em>It had been a little over a week since Rikuo successfully defeated Tamazuki and his Hachijuhakki Yakou. The surviving Shikoku youkai had all left peacefully and things were starting to settle down. Rikuo had managed to win over most of the minor youkai in the Nura clan with the excellent way he handled the invasion. The higher-ranking yokai had also gained respect for Rikuo, although a few of them still seemed skeptical about his ability to govern the clan.<em>

_The humans, for the most part were still unaware of the existence of youkai, preferring to put off the events of that night as freak accidents or hallucinations. Unfortunately quite a few people submitted reports to Kiyotsugu's website, making him very excitable all week. He had insisted that no one miss the Kiyo Cross Squad meetings since he would go over all the new information he'd received about a supposed battle between two youkai clans. Today, everyone was present with the exception of Yura._

xxxxxx

Kiyotsugu frowned.

"Where's Yura?" he demanded, annoyed that someone had managed to miss the meeting despite his insistent reminders to come.

He was met with indifferent shrugs from Maki and Shima. Kana, however, looked thoughtful.

"She hasn't been at school for a while," she said.

Rikuo nodded, agreeing with her. Kana blushed lightly but then quickly shook her head and started thinking of _him_ instead.

Tsurara glared at Kana, who tried to ignore her. "She probably went back to Kyoto," Rikuo said, oblivious.

Kiyotsugu's frown deepened. He soon decided to let it go, though, and enthusiastically began to tell them about yet another youkai sighting.

"Did I mention I've received some really great news?" he began excitedly. "I received another report-"

Maki rolled her eyes and interrupted, "Oh, great. How did I guess-"

Kiyotsugu ignored her and plowed on with his explanation. "The informant said they saw a long haired youkai dressed in a yukata while they were hiking up a deserted mountain. This youkai then came up to them and asked for directions to Ukiyoe before disappearing! I bet it's the one I'm looking for, the master of all youkai!" Kiyotsugu looked eagerly around at everyone, waiting for their reactions. "Cmon, isn't that great?"

Rikuo exchanged looks with Tsurara, who looked equally as confused, and confirmed that she was thinking the same thing as him. The description did sound like his night form… but he hadn't gone to a deserted mountain since Mt. Nejireme where he had fought Gyuuki, and finally accepted his youkai blood.

_'Perhaps we should go home…'_ Rikuo thought. _'There's always the chance that Grandpa has decided to play tricks on humans again…'_

"So, we're going on an expedition to the mountain next week!" Kiyotsugu continued animatedly. "If anyone sees Yura, tell her to come!". For once no one objected – everyone was eager to go, even Maki and Torii - they had heard that there was a hot spring near the area…

xxxxxx

When Rikuo and Tsurara got back to the Nura house, no one was there to greet them. The front hall was oddly empty and silent.

"Did something happen?" Rikuo asked Tsurara.

"I don't know, waka. We didn't have anything planned for today…" she answered, confused.

"That's strange…" Rikuo wondered out loud. _'Maybe it's related to that youkai sighting Kiyotsugu talked about…'_

"Let's go look for grandpa, Tsurara, he'll know what's going on."

"Yes, waka!" Tsurara replied happily, only too glad to follow Rikuo, who had set off deeper into the mansion.

The two of them began walking around the deserted hallways, looking in every room. As they neared the garden they began to hear a distant commotion.

Beginning to get worried, Tsurara and Rikuo hurried towards the garden. The noise got louder until, after they rounded a corner, they spotted its source. What looked like every youkai in the Nura Clan was packed into a huge crowd, all shoving and exclaiming.

"What's going on?" Rikuo asked. The youkai looked at him, whispered to each other, and eventually began shuffling aside so Rikuo and Tsurara could pass. Rikuo squeezed his way through the mass of youkai and eventually managed to get to the center of the crowd to see what was causing all the fuss.

What he saw made his heart stop.

In the center of the garden, his back pressed up against the old sakura tree, stood Nura Rihan, looking distinctly uncomfortable and confused by the pointing, gaping horde that surrounded him.

Rikuo distantly heard Tsurara gasp as she pushed through the crowd to stand beside him, but his mind was reeling and he took no notice. How could this be happening? He'd seen his father die right in front of his eyes, yet here he was…

Rikuo let out a half-strangled gasp, "Dad-" and began to walk towards Rihan, but before he could get closer a hand closed around his wrist. "Rikuo, stop," Nurarihyon ordered, pulling him a few paces backwards. Rikuo opened his mouth to protest but his grandfather cut him off. "Yes, I know it may look like Rihan, but appearances can be deceiving. This could be a shape-shifting youkai attempting to trick us." The crowd of youkai growled and muttered at the though of somebody having the audacity to try and trick them like this.

Nurarihyon stepped past Rikuo and faced Rihan. "Who are you?" he asked brusquely. Rihan narrowed his eyes. "I'm Nura Rihan," he began suspiciously. "Who are you?"

_'If he's trying to impersonate Rihan, he's doing a terrible job of it…'_ Nurarihyon thought, as he replied, "I am Nurarihyon." Rihan stared at him for a moment, then let out a short bark of laughter.

"Who are you trying to fool, old man? My father doesn't look anything like you!"

The watching youkai rumbled in confusion. What was he talking about? Rihan continued: "For one thing, he's about a meter taller than you, and he has hair as well…" Rihan gestured vaguely at Nurarihyon. "Not to mention he's way younger."

A possibility suddenly came into Nurarihyon's mind: What if this was actually Rihan? His speech and rudeness certainly sounded authentic... but he dismissed the thought immediately. Nurarihyon had already looked old long before Rihan had died, and anyway what would Rihan gain by pretending to die? No, his son was long dead. The man before him was nothing but an impostor, one who had dared to impersonate his son and one who he would stop at nothing to expose.

"If you're Nura Rihan," Nurarihyon said coldly, "you should be able to recite the words of the poem your wife wrote before she died."

The man claiming to be Rihan had been tapping the roots of the sakura tree impatiently with his foot. He stopped abruptly and stared at Nurarihyon in disbelief. _'There's no way anyone but the real Rihan could answer that,'_ Nurarihyon thought. _'I've caught him out.'_

The man dropped his gaze, a pained look on his face. There was a pregnant pause… the silence was deafening. Slowly a hiss rose from the crowd of youkai as they became convinced that this person was a fake.

"Well, if you can't answer that… you must be an impostor," Nurarihyon stated smugly. In response, the man slowly looked up at Nurarihyon. His eyes were blank and completely devoid of emotion. Feeling unnerved and strangely guilty, Nurarihyon met the gaze until the man lowered his eyes again and took a deep, shaky breath. Quietly, he began to recite the words:

"Flowers bloom sevenfold and eightfold, but the Kerria laments, for not a single fruit does it bear." The poem ended there but Rihan continued, "Even if I can make flowers bloom brilliantly… to bear so much as a fruit….is beyond my ability."

Nurarihyon stared at him disbelievingly. 'He knows the poem?' he thought in amazement. An uneasy murmur rang through the garden as the onlooking throng processed this information. The man stayed where he was and sadly studied his feet.

Rikuo had been watching the exchange silently but as his father finished his sorrowful recital he could no longer stand still. He stepped forward towards Rihan, intending to comfort him. "Rikuo!" Nurarihyon said sharply. Rikuo stopped in his tracks and looked back at his grandfather. Nurarihyon had noticed that Rihan had looked at him without a trace of recognition. He muttered to himself and then addressed Rihan, "Do you know him..?"

Rihan looked towards him then turned back to Rikuo, who was looking back eagerly. There was a tense pause in which he scrutinized Rikuo.

Rihan frowned slightly. " ... No."

Rikuo gaped at him. "You…don't know me..?" he asked in disbelief.

Rihan shrugged nonchalantly, " Am I supposed to?"

Rikuo stared at him for a few moments, his mind whirling. _His father didn't know him._

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><p><em>Notes: <em>

_This is the first fic I've written, so it would be great if you reviewed it :) This fic is a collab between me and my friends from deviantART, Allenwalker14 and sophia0615. Sophia came up with the initial idea for the fic and Allen helped write it. Please let me know if you like it!_

_We've also made a website for this fic, which you can find on my profile page, check it out for more information! :D_


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Disclaimer:

Nurarihyon no Mago © Shiibashi Hiroshi - I do not own the characters (wish I did though, lol)

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><p>All the watching youkai turned and fixed their eyes on Rikuo, waiting for his reaction. Dimly conscious of their stares, Rikuo struggled to compose his thoughts. He felt like breaking down and crying… but he knew he couldn't, not here. He'd only just managed to get these youkai to respect him - falling to pieces in front of them could undo it all in a second. Abruptly, Rikuo turned on his heel and roughly shoved his way out of the crowd, biting his lip in an attempt to control his feelings.<p>

xxxxxx

Nurarihyon sighed as he watched Rikuo leave. 'He hoped for too much…' he thought, feeling sorry for putting his grandson through that ordeal. Rikuo was still a child, though, and would want to believe his father had returned. Hopefully now he would see that there was no way this man was his father.

Nurarihyon surveyed Rihan with distaste, and went through the possibilities. True, he had been able to recite the poem word for word… but then again, youkai existed that could extort memories. Those types of youkai couldn't shape-shift, but if he was part of a clan… Yes, that had to be it; the shapeshifter was acting as part of a team, and therefore this whole business must be part of a rival clan's attempt to… what? Everyone knew that Rihan was dead, and the impostor didn't even seem to have a cover story to explain his presence. Was he acting as a distraction so his clan could attack? Nurarihyon shook his head. It was no good to speculate idly. If he kept the imitation Rihan captive, he could get the full story from him, find out who was behind this, and dispose of them all.

Rihan, meanwhile, was thinking quickly to himself. What was going on? Why were they being so inconsiderate? They _knew _what had happened a week ago, and had all been understanding when he left… so now that he'd come back, why did they start _questioning_ him about her and even say that she'd_ died? Didn't they understand how much that hurt! _He'd barely been able to stop himself from crying! And now they were continuing to badger him with their suspicions and questions. He couldn't care less about all this impostor bullshit or the random kid who he'd been asked to recognize a while ago. Why couldn't they just leave him alone? He'd only come back here because the Sakura tree was the one place where he could really concentrate - but now he had to put up with all this instead!

"Kubinashi, Kurotabou!" Nurarihyon commanded, jerking Rihan out of his thoughts. The two youkai snapped to attention. "Take this man and guard him. I will continue to question him later."

"Yes, Nurarihyon-sama," the two youkai said in unison. Kurotabou grabbed Rihan's right arm roughly and Kubinashi his left.

Rihan stared at them. Up until now he'd been willing to patiently go along with their suspicions and questions until he figured out what was going on. But he wasn't going to put up with this. This was his house and those were his subordinates, and this old man was definitely _not _going to be allowed to do as he pleased. "Alright, somebody tell me _right now_ who that old man is and why he's being allowed to order everyone around," he commanded, stepping forward to glare at Nurarihyon and dragging Kurotabou and Kubinashi with him.

When no-one answered, Rihan became more frustrated. "Why isn't anyone answering?" he demanded, as he looked around only to be greeted with hostile stares.

Kurotabou and Kubinashi tightened their grips on Rihan and wrenched him back to his previous position. "Because a prisoner isn't allowed to demand answers," Kurotabou replied icily. Rihan lost his temper. His nerves were already stretched to breaking point from the jarring reminders about his wife, and now this cold rebuttal from one of his closest subordinates was the last straw. "A prisoner? What the hell! You should be listening to _me_, not this old bastard!" Rihan yelled, jerking both arms from his subordinates and stepping in front of them.

The crowd of youkai gasped in horror at his words. "How _dare_ you insult the Supreme Commander like that!" many of them shouted, infuriated. Others began assaulting Rihan with insults, and some even flared their fear. Kubinashi and Kurotabou glared murderously at Rihan, but stayed still. It was up to Nurarihyon to deal with this impostor.

Nurarihyon banged his pipe against an incense holder, making a loud ringing noise. The flood of insults died down immediately as everyone turned towards him. He looked Rihan in the eyes and said coolly, "Shouting at people isn't going to earn you any respect."

Rihan looked away and clenched his fists, suddenly all too aware that he'd made a fool of himself. He tried to calm down as his two subordinates seized his arms again and led him off.

"The rest of you," Nurarihyon addressed the remaining youkai, "go back to your normal duties. I will deal with this impostor myself."Chattering eagerly amongst themselves, the youkai slowly dissipated back into the main house and resumed their work.

xxxxxx

Rikuo ran into his room, slammed the sliding door shut then slid down it. His thoughts were racing.

Why didn't his father recognize him? He'd been dreaming for this moment to come for such a long time and then….and then his father didn't remember! What had he done? Had Rihan thrown him aside? Did he think him worthless? Rikuo tried hard to stop the tears accumulating in his eyes from falling. The new information mixed with his old fears to create a frightening possibility: Maybe, maybe Rihan had really wanted a son from that woman. Back when he was little, on that night, he _had_ paid attention, despite what everyone thought. He recalled how Rihan had looked at the little girl, the face he'd made when he recited the exact words he had today. Today he'd looked the same way, perhaps even more pained. And he'd remembered her, only her. Neither his grandfather nor him had received any recognition. Perhaps Rihan didn't really want him. He was just there to take over the clan when the time came, and nothing else.

This time Rikuo couldn't stop his tears from falling. He grasped his knees and cried.

xxxxxx

Several hours passed. Rikuo didn't move.

His tears had dried up by now and he felt a little better. He was going through some old memories of his father. In the earliest ones he was always being held closely, protectively. The love he felt radiating from the person holding him soothed him. Yes - his father had loved him…but did he still love him now? How could he forget him if he _had _loved him? Rikuo continued along his memories to stop himself from thinking. When he learned how to walk, he was always running around and causing trouble. His father was more distant now but he occasionally still held him. Rikuo loved the early memories the most. He skipped the memories of _that_ night completely.

Eventually, while he was dejectedly going through today's encounter, he reached a point he hadn't paid much attention to before: _"…Yes, I know it may look like Rihan, but appearances can be deceiving,"_

Rikuo gasped. He clung to the idea his grandfather's voice had given him like a drowning man. Suddenly everything didn't seem as bad: His dad hadn't forgotten him nor thrown him aside, the man today was an impostor! Yes, his real father would never say anything like that! His dad had cared for him!

Then Rikuo remembered how easily he had fallen into the shapeshifter's trap. He frowned. His grandfather had been right… he was too naive. A child. Rikuo clenched his fists. He was the Third Heir to the Nura clan, and he couldn't afford to make such big mistakes. He would make sure to learn from this and never be fooled again.

As for the impostor, he'd do all he could to help his grandfather get some answers out of him.

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><p><em>Author's notes: OH MY GOD! This chapter was an absolute PAIN to write! :C And it wasn't even the whole chapter that was difficult - just the middle scene with Rihan in it. ARGH. Allen and I must have revised that scene like, a billion times! <em>

_Well angry ranting aside, thank you to everyone who reviewed the first chapter! :D It felt awesome to get reviews and it made us really motivated XD _

_And by the way, it'd be great if you could vote in our poll: Would you like to see shounen-ai in this fanfic? The link is on my profile page c:_


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

Disclaimer:

Hi this time I'm doing the disclaimer (I'm Stars-chan's co-author). Anyway nothing special to say, we don't own Nurarihyon no mago because it belongs to Shiibashi-sensei.

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><p>"Rikuo?" Nurarihyon tapped lightly on Rikuo's door. Receiving no reply, he slid the door open and saw Rikuo staring contemplatively at the sakura tree. Nurarihyon worriedly went over to stand beside his grandson. "Rikuo, are-" he began, afraid that Rikuo still couldn't accept his "father's" rejection.<p>

"Don't worry, Grandpa," Rikuo said suddenly, turning around. "He was an impostor. I'm fine." Nurarihyon studied Rikuo's face closely. "Are you sure…?" he asked, still uncertain.

"Yes," Rikuo said, without hesitation. He looked past his grandfather into the garden with a determined look on his face. "I was wrong to ever believe that impostor could have been my father." The darkening sky shadowed Rikuo's face as he underwent the transformation into his youkai form.

"I will expose him."

xxxxxx

After being led away from the garden, Kurotabou and Kubinashi had brought him to an old unused storeroom and had stayed in silence near the door ever since. Rihan hadn't wanted to disturb them so he'd sat cross-legged on a zabuton (1) and had used the time to organize his thoughts.

He hadn't made much progress when Kenjorou had come into the room to give them food. She had been just as cold towards him as the others so he'd refrained from flirting with her. All this seriousness was killing him - he couldn't relax, as if he was in a battle. First the pointing and gaping, then the questioning, and now an _imprisonment_. When could he let loose and act more like himself, without worrying about what might happen?

It was all that old man's fault. Rihan was sure he'd snuck in while he'd been wandering and brainwashed everyone into thinking he was an impostor of all things. That was probably why he'd acted so serious - seeing familiar faces turn towards him with hostile expressions must've put him off. And that _bastard_ had the nerve to do it so soon after his wi - Rihan cut himself off.

A small youkai, almost as if on cue, poked its head into the room and addressed him. "The Supreme Commander wishes to see you." Rihan, after unwittingly reminding himself of his wife, had become miserable and didn't move. When he took too long to get up, Kurotabou grabbed his arm and roughly hauled him to his feet. "Come on." Rihan offered no resistance, and allowed himself to be ushered out. The short journey was uneventful even with the curious youkai peeking at them from out of their rooms and ceilings. Rihan paid no attention to his surroundings until Kubinashi and Kurotabou stopped. An imposing set of doors stood before them, and Rihan knew instinctively that they led to a long room with red walls - the main meeting room.

Kubinashi jerked his head in the direction of the doors. "Go in."

Rihan glanced at him annoyed. Since when could his subordinates order him around? Then he remembered it was probably that old bastard's doing, so Kubinashi wasn't to blame. He slowly slid the door open and stepped inside. There, he saw the old man occupying the spot reserved for the clan leader - the spot _he _usually sat in.

Screw seriousness and what they thought of him, he'd insult this baldy as much as he wanted. It was stupid to be afraid of him anyway. Before he could say anything, however, he became aware that another person was in the room. They were leaning against the wall, in the darkest corner of the room. Rihan couldn't see their face.

Suddenly he noticed the air growing denser, and an underlying current of painfully familiar fear made its way towards him. _'It can't be!'_ He snapped his gaze onto the old man and froze. The familiar fear, _Nurarihyon's _fear was coming from _him?_

"You're Nurarihyon!" Rihan spluttered.

Nurarihyon raised an eyebrow. " So you finally admit I'm Nurarihyon," he said, slightly surprised. "Perhaps I should've used my fear earlier."

"But you - you're so _old and ugly!_" Rihan was having trouble taking it in. If this old shrimp was really his father then…then what the hell was going on?

Nurarihyon decided to play along. "I've been this old for a while." he said, ignoring the ugly bit. Perhaps the impostor would spill some information if he let him talk. He let his fear dissipate into the background to make him feel more at ease. "Why do you find that strange?" he asked attentively.

"Because it's disturbing to have such an ugly father…and you were much better looking a week ago... What did you _do _to yourself!" _And what if I grow up to look like him! _Rihan thought, horrified.

Nurarihyon gritted his teeth. "A week?" he inquired sharply, deciding not to let the man's rudeness distract him from his questioning.

Rihan didn't see what was so significant. "Yeah gramps, a week." Maybe he'd lost his hearing as well as his good looks.

So the impostor had met a younger version of himself less than a week ago? Nurarihyon didn't know what to make of that. Everyone knew what he looked like now, so it didn't make much sense for someone to masquerade as his younger self…much less to do it in order to trick this 'Rihan'. In fact, his impostor and rival clan theories were seeming less and less likely to be true. _'Perhaps,'_ he thought with intense apprehension, _'this isn't an impostor at all?'_ He immediately quelled the thought, but the damage had been done …he had to make sure.

Fortunately he knew of a fool-proof test - matoi.

"If you wish to prove you're really Rihan, then perform matoi - fear layering" he stated, taking Rihan by surprise. Not only was the subject change unexpected, but the shrivelled old prune - he refused to acknowledge such a hideous thing as his father - was _finally _giving him a proper chance to prove he wasn't an impostor!

But before Rihan could respond, a deep voice emanated from the corner of the room, "Matoi?" it asked, as the owner of the voice moved out of the shadows. Rihan stared. _'Another Nurarihyon!'_ he thought, stupefied. As if one of them wasn't enough!

Nurarihyon - the ugly one - was staring at him in amusement. The crazy old man probably found it insanely funny to trick people with this new multiplication ability. An impatient movement from the younger, much better looking Nurarihyon prompted him to answer the question.

"Matoi is a technique where a human-youkai hybrid allows the human part to be possessed by a member of his Hyakki Yakou," the old shrimp explained. "It was created by your father," he said, glancing at Rihan, then Rikuo, "but you should be able to use it too, Rikuo."

Rihan, who had been listening proudly to Nurarihyon's explanation of his awesome technique, stiffened. Since when was he a _father? _

"But I don't have a son," Rihan said, confused. Rikuo froze. His expression hadn't changed but Nurarihyon knew that phrase had hurt him. Now he was regretting giving this impostor another chance - the real Rihan wouldn't have said such a thing - but it was too late to take it back. Instead he narrowed his eyes at 'Rihan' and flared his fear as a warning. Rihan took the hint - the old man's ugliness made him much scarier than his father had been - and changed the subject. "I'll perform it if you get someone to do it with me," he offered. Nurarihyon nodded his assent, "Rikuo, go call Kurotabou. He can perform it with-"

"Let me do it." Rikuo interrupted.

Rihan and Nurarihyon turned towards him with identical expressions of surprise. "Rikuo!" Nurarihyon exclaimed sharply, "It's too dangerous; this man could-"

"I _know_, gramps." Rikuo cut in once again. "Just let me do it."

Nurarihyon shook his head. "You're only a quarter youkai, Rikuo. We don't know what could happen; it's only ever been performed with full youkai."

Rikuo looked his grandfather in the eye determinedly. "I won't change my mind. Let me do it."

Rihan butted in before Nurarihyon could do anything, "You've got to be kidding me. There's no way I'm gonna risk doing matoi with someone who's not a full youkai - if it goes wrong that old man'll _kill_ me!"

Rikuo turned to Rihan, "I'll take full responsibility if something goes wrong." he said, addressing both him and his grandfather.

His grandfather looked at him sharply, "If something goes wrong," he said, "you may not be able to take responsibility, Rikuo."

"I'm aware of that." Rikuo responded hotly. " But it's not your decision. I'm not a child anymore."

"Hey old man, just let him do it. He's willing to take responsibility and he's obviously determined so there's no point arguing," Rihan said quickly before Nurarihyon could reply. Rikuo couldn't help but feel grateful to him.

Nurarihyon sighed. Although he wasn't at all happy at letting Rikuo anywhere near this stranger, he was right - it was time he stopped being so overprotective. The recent encounter with Tamazuki had proven that Rikuo was able to look after himself.

"Alright," he finally said.

Rikuo smiled in satisfaction. "Thanks, gramps." He then stepped towards Rihan, looking at him confidently. "I'm ready."

* * *

><p>(1) A Japanese cushion used for sitting.<p>

_Author's notes: What's this, a surprise update randomly in the middle of the week? XD_

_Anyway, Allen and I majorly rewrote this chapter after she read Chapter 148 of the manga (somehow, she managed to miss it. I don't know how lol) and it raised the 'coolness level' of Rihan by a few notches, so we had to rewrite this chapter and make him cooler XD_

_Allen: Of course we had to, he sounded so boring before XD And having Kurotabou matoi with Rihan would've been insanely boring too, so Rikuo's gonna do it instead :D _

_Don't forget to vote in the poll on our profile if you haven't already - Would you like to see shounen-ai in this fic?_

_Thanks for reading, R&R please :D_


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

Disclaimer:

We don't own Nurarihyon no mago.

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><p>Rihan looked at Rikuo's determined expression, and decided he could grow to like him. He put his hand on Rikuo's shoulder and shut his eyes, starting the first phase needed to perform matoi. Breathing deeply, he soon settled into a trance-like state, in which his awareness of the outside world dimmed as he completely focused on Rikuo.<p>

Once his trance had stabilized, he tried to draw Rikuo's fear into himself.

After a while, Rikuo felt an strange sensation spreading from where Rihan's hand was in contact with his shoulder. He shrugged the feeling off - it was probably a side effect of this matoi technique. After they stood there for another three minutes and nothing really happened, the youkai began to worry. Was it not working because he was 3/4 human? Maybe it only worked with full youkai...

Suddenly Rikuo twitched in pain. It felt like a needle had been inserted into his shoulder right under Rihan's palm. To his shock, the twinge of pain quickly transformed into outright _agony_ and spread like a fire through his entire body. The youkai screamed. It felt like he was being torn apart -

Nurarihyon stared as his grandson began shrieking and shuddering in what seemed to be excruciating pain. Rikuo's skin began to dissolve into smoke, which was then sucked into Rihan's body. Rikuo transformed back into his day form, still screaming and thrashing about wildly. _'Damn! I should never have let Rikuo close to this guy!'_ Nurarihyon thought furiously, as he ran forwards to try and separate the two. But before he could reach them, Rikuo jerked convulsively, sucked in a gasp of air and collapsed unconscious to the floor with a dull thud.

xxxxxx

When Rikuo came to, his body felt extremely light and an incessant buzzing was echoing in his head. Ignoring the queer sensations, he hesitantly rose to his feet and flicked his eyes nervously back and forth. The place was completely dark and silent - he felt ill at ease, as if he'd been robbed of his senses. Unexpectedly, light flared up from nowhere and dimly illuminated his surroundings. The youkai noticed, with a jolt of surprise, that he was standing on the surface of a huge, dark body of water. Fleeting glimpses of images flickered across the lake's surface, but always disappeared before he could focus on them. What was this place? He'd never been anywhere like it, but yet… it felt strangely familiar, like the place where he contacted his human side. It was different though; this place was darker, more refined.

The youkai frowned uncertainly and slowly began to walk. He didn't know where he was going, but moving was better than staying where he was. Almost imperceptibly he felt the air grow lighter, less oppressive. Taking this as a good sign he continued to move forwards. After a time, a small island with a sakura tree came into view. Rikuo could see a shadowy figure sitting near the tree's roots but he was too far away to see its features.

As he neared the island, the figure raised its head and looked at him. The youkai could see now that it was a man, wearing a green yukata, like Rihan's - it couldn't be Rihan, though; he was missing his characteristic protruding hair…

Rikuo felt disappointed. It seemed like this man wasn't his dad after all, just an impostor. He was probably reverting back into his _true _form…

"Who are you?" Rikuo asked curtly, stopping a few meters away from the man.

"I'm Nura Rihan," came the amused reply. "Do I really look that different?"

"You're obviously not Rihan," he said skeptically, ignoring his question.

Rihan sighed. "Oh, not this impostor crap again…" he muttered under his breath.

"My hair is different, 'cause I'm in my human form right now." The hanyou said a bit louder, looking Rikuo in the eyes and wishing he would drop his suspicions. "Although my handsome face is still the same." he couldn't resist adding.

Rikuo snorted in amusement at the last comment, though his expression remained guarded.

Rihan grimaced. It hadn't worked - not that he really thought it would. He was practiced at reading other people's expressions, so the youkai's distrust was obvious. And since matoi couldn't be performed if they didn't trust each other… he'd have to try hard to convince him. Oh joy.

_"_Alright, so you're here to perform matoi…" Rihan began then waited for Rikuo's nod before continuing,"but that's not possible unless we trust each other." The youkai was now looking at him in annoyance, "That's not gonna happen." he said firmly. Did he waste so much time convincing his grandfather for nothing?

'_Ouch. He sure is blunt.' _Rihan thought. "That's why I'm going to show you some of my memories." When the Nurarihyon-look-alike just stared at him, Rihan realised Rikuo had no idea what he was talking about. "Ah, whoops…I forgot to tell you that we're in my mind right now." Rihan said sheepishly. Rikuo's eyes showed a flash of understanding - so _that's _where he was - then became even more guarded. The impostor would be able to do whatever he wanted to him in here!

Rihan walked over to the edge of the island and knelt by the water. "Tell me when you're ready." he said as Rikuo took a moment to decide. When he nodded and walked over, Rihan smiled slightly. '_Alright, we're finally getting somewhere!'_ He proceeded to dip his right hand into the water, while concentrating on it. Soon, a faint image began to appear around his hand.

Rikuo leaned forward to try and see what it was showing. "Oi, hang on, you're doing it wrong!" Rihan called, stopping the youkai in his tracks. "It's still not finished solidifying," he said ignoring Rikuo's annoyed expression, and then motioned towards a spot in the lake a few meters away from him. "You're also gonna have to submerge yourself over there in order to experience it properly."

Rikuo squinted suspiciously at him - was he planning to suffocate him once he'd gone in? But since this was the only way to find out whether the man was an impostor or not, he had no choice but to comply. The youkai warily took a deep breath and submerged himself completely.

It was pitch black under the water - he lost all sense of direction. It was as if his senses had been stripped away and he was suspended helplessly in nothingness. He started to panic, and was berating himself for following the impostor's instruction when he felt an odd sucking sensation and colors began to scintillate around him. They grew and blurred into a whirl around him, dizzyingly fast and almost sickening. As they slowed Rikuo began to pick up snatches of sound, and finally his vision settled onto a familiar scene - the main gate of the Nura house.

xxxxxx

_'This must be the memory,'_ Rikuo thought, feeling relieved and slightly hopeful; maybe that man _had_ been telling the truth. He noticed then that the strands of hair falling in his eyes were not white, as his hair was, but jet-black, and he was wearing a distinctive green striped yukata… _'I'm in dad's body,'_ The youkai realized wonderingly. Suddenly his body began to move forwards of its own accord. '_Huh!'_ Rikuo struggled to control it, but to no avail. After a brief phase in which he puzzled over this, he eventually thought, _'Well… since this is a memory… I probably can't do anything.'_

He - Rihan - walked through the large gate of the main house and into the building, heading for the garden at its center. He walked quickly, not wishing to speak to anyone, so the household youkai barely had time to glance at him in bewilderment before he was gone. Then as he and Rihan turned a corner, they bumped into Kubinashi, who was carrying a load of laundry.

"Sorry," he heard himself say with Rihan's voice, in an attempt to avoid conversation. Rihan's disorganized thoughts spun around in his head, the most recurring one being misery about the recent disappearance of Yamabuki. He pushed past, vaguely noting Kubinashi's disbelieving expression but pushing it to the back of his mind.

They reached the sakura tree and sighed, taking in its familiar appearance. He had left the house to try and find somewhere quiet to think, but nowhere he went could match the tranquility of the sakura tree. He gazed into its branches but was interrupted by an increasingly loud clamor from behind him. Reluctantly he turned and saw a growing crowd of youkai standing there, staring at him as if he were a ghost. He felt a twinge of annoyance; what were they looking at?

Kubinashi pushed his way through the throng, pulling an extremely short, wizened old man with him. He was talking animatedly and pointing, a worried expression on his face. He met the old man's scrutinizing gaze uneasily._ 'Who is he? Some new youkai who joined the clan while I was absent…?' _ Rikuo heard the word "impostor" being whispered through the crowd, and felt his face twist into a frown. _'Impostor? What are they talking about?'_ came Rihan's confused thoughts. The suspicious murmuring escalated and the youkai clustered closer to him, forcing him to take instinctive steps back until he was pressed against the trunk of the sakura tree. As Rihan became more aware of his situation, noticing unfamiliar youkai mixed into the horde surrounding him, his confusion grew and swamped Rikuo under a barrage of endless, answerless questions.

xxxxxx

Rihan reached into the water and grabbed Rikuo's arm, hauling him out of the water and breaking the illusion. The youkai dazedly pulled himself up onto the island, noticing that he wasn't wet at all from his immersion into the lake. He shook his head to clear it and turned to face his father, who was looking at him.

"So...do you believe me yet?"

Rikuo took a moment to ponder his father's question. _Did_ he believe him? He was sure what he had experienced was the truth - it was impossible to lie in one's own mind - and Rihan really did think and act like his dad would…but there remained one problem which he could not ignore, _why didn't he know him?_

He couldn't accept this man as his dad until he knew why.

He answered the man with another question: "Why don't you know me?"

Rihan was taken by surprise and found himself unable to answer. Rikuo took the silence the wrong way and made an annoyed noise. "You expect me to believe you when you're not willing to answer?"

Rihan shrugged helplessly in response. "It's not that I don't want to answer," he said, after he'd recovered, "it's that I _can't _answer… 'cause I don't know."

The youkai, seeing from his expression that the man was telling the truth, stayed quiet as he tried to come up with a solution.

"Hey, I'm going to show you some of my memories." Rikuo said when an idea formed in his mind. Perhaps seeing his memories of the events would in turn jog Rihan's own memories, and the answer would come to him.

"Sure." Rihan said indifferently as they exchanged positions. '_I hope he'll drop his suspicions soon though, this is getting old.'_

"Oi…How do you project your memories?" Rikuo asked, once he realized he had no clue how Rihan had done it. The hanyou smirked at him in amusement, receiving an annoyed look. "It's easy - just think of the memory really strongly while staring at the water. Everything else will happen naturally."

Rikuo nodded. He supposed it was a little like the way he communicated with his human self. The youkai thought of an early memory between him and his father and willed it to merge with the water. It shimmered as colors started to flicker through it - he'd succeeded.

Rihan gave him a thumbs up then submerged himself into the water, as Rikuo had done earlier.

xxxxxx

When the swirl of colors had settled and he could hear once again, Rihan found himself being held against someone's chest. He couldn't see anything except green…occasionally broken up by dark brown lines; the person must have been holding him very close. He could suspect who the person was because of that familiar fabric - and somehow, for a reason he didn't know, he found himself wishing that he was right. A wave of affection rolled through him as Rikuo's hands rose and grabbed at the person's arms with small, chubby hands. Rihan smiled softly to himself; it seemed Rikuo was still a small child in this memory.

He felt himself tug at the arm, seeking more attention. The person holding him quietly chuckled then gently lifted them up so he was looking into their eyes. They were amber and loving, belonging to a handsome face framed with dark hair.

Rihan froze. It was …_himself_…who was looking tenderly at the small child."Rikuo," the other him breathed warmly, gently caressing his hair.

_Was this the child that Otome couldn't provide him with?_

A strong hand grasped his own and pulled him out of the endearing memory. The older Rikuo, who looked so much like Nurarihyon, was gazing at him with an unreadable look. Rihan found it hard to believe that the cute little boy from the memory could be the same person as this cold young man.

"So …is it true? Am I really…?" Rihan breathed in wonder. The words _'your dad' _rang unsaid in both their minds.

Rikuo's expression softened. "…I think so," he said. He really wanted to believe that this man was his dad. "Do you want to see more memories?"

Rihan nodded eagerly.

xxxxxx

Rikuo had shown Rihan many memories of his childhood. They were bright and cheerful, full of warmth and affection. At first they had lightened Rihan's heart and flooded him with happiness… but then he began to feel a deep longing. If he really was the same Rihan, then why wasn't anything coming back? Why didn't these memories bring back any thoughts or emotions? Even as he experienced them in the first person…he felt detached, like the events they showed didn't belong to him…like he was watching someone else's life.

Maybe that was all he was, an intruder. This kind and tender Rihan who played so happily with his child was not him. These loving memories belonged to a stranger and the child belonged to another him. They were bittersweet, showing him a future which he could no longer have. He wished now, more than ever, that Otome hadn't been so impatient…the happiness they could've had… Rihan started choking. Warm wet droplets began running down his cheeks…he was crying.

Rikuo noticed the other's tears, but did not comment. He wanted to comfort him…but he didn't feel capable of making any shows of affection, so he just looked at him awkwardly.

The youkai really wished he was in his day form right now, he'd be able to properly comfort his dad then without dying of embarrassment.

When Rihan calmed down, he turned towards Rikuo with still puffy eyes, "…Who was your mother?"

"She's a human," Rikuo answered in a low voice, "her name is Wakana."

Rihan nodded slowly. It was as he'd thought, Rikuo didn't belong to Otome.

"..Can you tell me about her?" the hanyou asked softly. He wanted to know more about this new woman, whom his other self had managed to love.

Rikuo gave him a small smile. "I'll do better than that." he said. "You can watch all of my memories."

xxxxxx

Rihan had calmed himself. Although he had originally only wanted to know about Wakana, watching his possible son growing and maturing throughout his memories had made him feel like he was really his father. He'd asked Rikuo to project his memories while holding hands with him, so that Rihan could view them from the third person, while still feeling Rikuo's emotions. Through these memories he had gotten to know Rikuo intimately and, even if this wasn't his child, had started to love him.

He'd also found himself able to take the first steps needed to reconcile himself with the loss of his wife. Rikuo wasn't Otome's son and his other self had loved another woman. Their happiness showed him clearly that he could find happiness himself, even without his wife.

"…I skipped a very important memory." Rikuo eventually said.

Rihan turned towards him, but didn't say anything. He knew from the memories that Rikuo would continue if he wanted to.

"…it's very painful" the youkai said quietly, "but it's incredibly important that you watch it."

Rihan looked at him in silence for a long time…"Why?"

Rikuo became pained…"I don't really want to say." he said after a pause. "It's also best if you experience this from my point of view."

Rihan looked at him a little longer before nodding.

He walked to the lake and submerged himself in its dark waters, feeling uneasy.

xxxxxx

This time, the colors which assaulted him were darker, and it took much longer for the scene to stabilize. It was a dark and misty night in the back garden of the Nura house, and Rihan had entered a four-year-old Rikuo's body.

Rikuo, despite the eerie scenery, was feeling excited. He was going to show dad and onee-san the beautiful place he'd found!

'…Onee-san?' Rihan had been startled by Rikuo's excitement, but the curious word hadn't escaped him. Did he have _another_ child?

But Rikuo did not reply - this was a memory after all, so it was impossible to interact with him.

They ran forwards, through the otherworldly mist, towards a bed of flowers. _'Kerria,'_ Rihan thought as he felt a sharp pang of grief pierce his heart. Kerria - the flower his wife had represented. But this was no time to think about her, so he turned his attention back to his surroundings. They slowed down when they didn't spot the tall form of Rikuo's father. _'Where have dad and onee-san gone?'_ came Rikuo's confused thoughts, as he scanned the garden.

A sudden noise grabbed their attention. They headed towards it, walking around the bewitching bush of yellow flowers. There was his dad -

Rikuo stopped in confusion. There was a long, bloodied sword piercing Rihan's motionless body through his chest, blood dripping from its end. "Dad…?" the small child asked in confusion and wariness. Rihan turned his head painfully to look at his son with dimming eyes, blood trickling out of his mouth. The Rihan in Rikuo's body was chilled by the sight. "Rikuo…" his father managed to cough out in a loving yet alarmed tone...before a high-pitched scream of pure agony engulfed the scene.

The small child, already extremely uneasy from his dad's strange tone of voice, snapped his head up towards the source of the sound.

There, holding the sword which was piercing Rihan's body, was a small, black haired girl.

_'Otome-' _Rihan thought_. _A tidal wave of deep pain and sorrow crashed through him and drowned him ruthlessly. The little girl's face, a perfect copy of his wife's, brought forth all the pain he'd managed to keep at bay for the past week. It ripped open a raw and fresh wound without the slightest speck of mercy. The small progress he'd made with the help of Rikuo's previous memories evaporated instantly.

Rihan clutched at his chest, coughing and choking. He felt himself temporarily merge with the memory Rihan as their bodies overlapped - excruciatingly unbearable fire seared through him where the sword pierced his chest and a deep dark fog of emotional pain ate at his mind.

He screamed in anguish.

xxxxxx

Above the water, Rikuo, who had been projecting his memory with an emotionless face, gasped in pain as the sudden rush of agony reached him. His memory started wavering, the pieces burning away as Rihan's pain enveloped everything.

The clear, smooth water started rippling. Waves crashed against the small island and wind ripped at the branches of the sakura tree. The youkai did all he could to stay standing as this powerful storm tore past him, whipping at his clothes and skin.

With the wind came memory fragments which struck him with mind-blowing force. He doubled over with each hit.

A white letter and a flower. Sharp, stinging pain - she was never coming back. The graceful smile of a beautiful dark-haired woman. A name.

Yamabuki Otome.

But the images were _nothing_ compared to the emotions which accompanied them. All-encompassing, unimaginable feelings of sorrow enveloped his whole being, while blistering pain, heavy with depression, consumed his heart.

Then abruptly, just as Rikuo was about to suffocate under the intensity of the emotional barrage, everything stopped and the storm subsided. The youkai drew in a sharp breath in relief. He moved his arms away from his face and warily opened one eye, unknowingly imitating one of his dad's habits.

The island was completely ravaged; the sakura tree had lost almost a quarter of its branches, and there were twigs, leaves, random bits of rock and some more stuff he couldn't recognize strewn all over the ground.

When Rikuo didn't see his dad on the island, he immediately rushed to the water's edge and urgently scanned the water. He became extremely alarmed when he noticed a dark blur in the shape of Rihan's body several feet under the dark water. Without a second thought, the youkai immediately dived into the lake.

This time the water pressed in around him, weighting him down in an imitation of the pain Rihan must still have been unconsciously releasing throughout it.

He swam determinedly through the total darkness, battling through the dense water, and going forwards restlessly despite only having a vague idea of where the hanyou was.

After a long struggle in which he had nearly been crushed several times, he finally reached his father's body. Rihan had his eyes closed and did not seem to be breathing.

'_No!_ _Not again!' _Rikuo thought anxiously as he swam forward to his father's body. He wrapped his arms around him and swam quickly for the surface, fighting against the water pressing down on them. The youkai finally broke the surface of the lake, and dragged his father up onto the island. Tensely, he reached out his hand and pressed against his father's neck, and waited…

_Thump…thump._

Rikuo exhaled in relief. He didn't know what he would have done if his dad didn't have a heartbeat. All of a sudden he realized how foolish he'd been - how could his father have died inside his own mind?

* * *

><p>Authors' Notes<p>

Stars-chan: Amazing isn't it - two early updates in a week! However next week I'm going on a school trip so no chance of any surprise updates.

Allen: ...Of course there is a chance of a surprise update, stars-chan, I can post the chapter up too.

Stars-chan: Alright, so there's a chance of a surprise update XD

Aaanyway, thank you for voting in our poll and giving us reviews! :D

Allen: You'll find out what the result was soon through the story :)

Now for some boring stuff that you might like to know:

This was originally chapters 4 and 5 but we decided to merge them since it flowed better that way. Chapters from now on are going to be longer - approximately 3000 words each.

We're also going to change the character listing on the fic, since Night Rikuo will play a bigger role than his day counterpart.

R&R please :D


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

Disclaimer:

We don't own Nurarihyon no mago.

* * *

><p>Nurarihyon paced the room restlessly. What was taking them so long? It had already been a few hours since they'd started and neither one of them had moved a muscle! He didn't care about the impostor, but Rikuo's unconscious body was really worrying him. Nurarihyon had been extremely alarmed when Rikuo had started screaming in pain but he'd been too late to do anything. He hadn't moved his grandson's body, for fear of affecting the matoi and making Rikuo unable to get back.<p>

Rikuo didn't have any visible injuries so Nurarihyon surmised it must've been something other than physical pain. The fact that his grandson had reverted to his day form, at night, also pointed to a different kind of pain - spiritual pain. It was possible that Rikuo would be forever scarred by this incident.

Nurarihyon clenched his fists in anger. How could he have allowed such a thing to happen!

But there was nothing he could do it about now, so he had to be content to sit next to his grandson's body and the impostor's.

Nurarihyon's eyes unwillingly landed on him. The impostor was sitting calmly in a cross-legged position with his arms resting near his feet. His eyes were closed and he didn't seem to be aware of anything around him. Nurarihyon felt a pang of pain in his heart when he gazed at the man's peaceful face, identical to that of his dead son's.

xxxxxx

When Rihan regained consciousness, the first thing he saw was the dark sky of his mind. A look to his right brought him the sight of a handsome young man staring at him with barely concealed worry. Rihan smiled. _Rikuo._

The youkai had been sitting at his father's side, patiently waiting for him to wake, so he realized immediately when he did. His dad's smile brought a small one to his own face - it seemed Rihan had recovered from whatever had caused that violent storm of emotions.

He decided to answer that question Rihan had asked him some time ago.

"I believe you now…." Rikuo paused, then awkwardly added, "..dad." It felt incredibly strange to address someone else using that word, especially in this form. He resolved to call him 'pops' or 'old man' next time so he wouldn't feel so awkward.

Rihan drew in a sharp breath at the word 'dad'. Rikuo…Rikuo had accepted him as his father. He knew he should be happy, but instead he found himself at a loss. On one hand, he should be glad that he finally had a son, but on the other... this was somebody else's son. Although he had gotten to know Rikuo through his memories, he couldn't take his other self's place…he simply wasn't the same man. He also hadn't missed the way Rikuo had hesitated; it'd be better for both of them if Rikuo didn't use that word in order to address him.

"Just call me by my name, Rikuo," Rihan said.

Surprised wine-red eyes met a single amber one. Why did his dad want him to call him by his name? Had he caught his embarrassing hesitation? Or maybe… was he really an impostor? That thought brought unimaginable pain along with it, but he beat it down. "…What do you mean…?" the youkai questioned slowly.

Rihan looked uncomfortable. He didn't know how to say this without sounding lame…"It just sounds…strange," he eventually managed, hoping Rikuo wouldn't ask him why.

Rikuo didn't. He had come to the conclusion that his father _had _caught that embarrassing pause. However, he couldn't grant his request - calling his father 'Rihan' or 'Rihan-san' would feel even _more _awkward.

"Then… I'll call you, 'you'," the youkai said, smirking.

Rihan shrugged, "Sure." He smirked back at Rikuo. "But I won't answer to 'Hey you'."

Rikuo responded with an offhand "Humph," ending the conversation.

They stared at each other in awkward silence, as they tried to think of something they could talk about.

Rihan eventually broke the silence. "… I think our spiritual bond is strong enough now… so we can perform matoi."

The youkai looked surprised for a second, but then his expression smoothed out and he nodded.

xxxxxx

It felt incredibly strange to wear Rikuo, and he didn't know if it was because of the way he thought of him, or his three-quarter human blood. He had also never worn another Nurarihyon before so that added to the strange-ness. His boost in fear was exhilarating though - he hadn't thought someone as young as Rikuo could have so much, and most of it was untapped too. Rihan smirked when Rikuo's thoughts reached him. It seemed, he too, was awed by the amount of fear they had. Rikuo really had to lighten up though, because he was worried that their combined fear might wreck the house. Although Rihan didn't really want to ruin it, a little destruction here and there was fun when no-one got hurt.

He opened an eye.

xxxxxx

Rikuo was experiencing what he thought and felt too, just like when they'd shared memories; except it was actually possible to interact this time. It was amazing to be able to share his father's body, and feel his confidence and coolness flow through him and mingle with his own. Rihan had always seemed mysterious, so this chance to know his thoughts and feelings was incredibly important to him. His dad was very light-hearted and playful but that didn't detract from his coolness - The youkai found himself grudgingly admitting that his father was cooler than him. He couldn't help but be awed. He felt his dad smirk in amusement at his thoughts… but before he could start to feel embarrassed, Rihan opened his left eye, presenting them with the sight of Nurarihyon's stare.

xxxxxx

Nurarihyon had immediately diverted his full attention to Rihan when he felt a massive amount of fear gathering around him. The room was soon quickly filling with fear, completely engulfing Rihan and obscuring him from sight. Nurarihyon was forced to move away when the fear grew even larger and pushed at him - he took Rikuo's body as well, before the black smoke could touch him. He wasn't going to risk exposing Rikuo to such strong, unstable fear, even if some of it was his own.

He watched warily as over half the room became enveloped with fear, before it finally stabilized and drew back. He stood still, with Rikuo's unconscious body in his arms. Had it worked? Or had something dreadful happened…?

Once most of the back smoke had cleared, and Nurarihyon could see the owner of the fear clearly, he gasped in shock. There stood a man dressed in a black yukata striped with green. His extremely long hair protruding from his head was divided into two colors: the top half was dark, like Rihan's hair, and the bottom a brilliant white. White markings also streaked through the length of wavy hair. One of the man's eyes was closed, but the other, an extraordinary reddish-orange color, looked at him playfully.

The man smirked at him. "Yo, pops. How do I look?" he said, running a hand curiously through his hair. Nurarihyon gaped at him. The impostor had actually performed matoi successfully! …Then was he really…

"Rihan?" the old man questioned uncertainly.

"The one and only," Rihan responded cheekily, before his expression changed.

"Gramps, it's really him," he said in a quiet tone. Nurarihyon's eyes bulged.

"Rikuo…!" He quickly glanced down at the body in his arms, but when he saw Rikuo hadn't moved, shot his gaze back to the man.

The young man nodded, then suddenly looked surprised. "Whoa, how did you do that?" he asked himself… were his grandson and Rihan sharing a body?

Nurarihyon looked at him awkwardly. "…Is this normal?"

Rihan, who seemed to be listening to something only he could hear, took a while to answer. "Nah, it's never happened before… but don't worry, I think it's 'cause both of us can use _Meikyou Shishui." _Nurarihyon nodded, although the man didn't seem to catch it as he had gone back to staring blankly.

Suddenly the man started twitching. "Oi, oi, hold on!" he said, grabbing one of his arms, which had started moving on its own accord. "We'll look stupid if we try to do something at the same time!"

The arm went limp. "…Am I just supposed to sit back and do nothing, then?" he asked himself, annoyed.

"Well…yes. This is my body, not yours." he replied, as he moved their eyes onto Rikuo's unconscious day form. The man got a strange expression on his face for a second, before he looked back up at Nurarihyon.

"So, old man, am I in the clear now?"

It seemed Rikuo had backed down and let Rihan take control, but Nurarihyon couldn't blame him - seeing his own unconscious body must have been off-putting. The man…Rihan's question was more important though.

"…You are," he eventually said, but continued in an uncompromising tone before Rihan could celebrate. "However, I still don't fully believe you. You will be followed by two guards wherever you go."

Rihan didn't look happy at that, but he knew better than to argue - once his old man made up his mind, it was almost impossible to change it.

Seeing no point in continuing the matoi, he ended it.

xxxxxx

Rihan had left the room a few moments after reverting to his normal self, when the old man had said nothing further to him. He'd looked at Rikuo on his way out but the latter had remained unconscious. Kurotabou and Kubinashi had taken him back to the old storeroom in silence, then left to stand outside. Rihan didn't think they knew how the questioning had gone.

He was starting to feel depressed being in a room all by himself, when a tug at his mind made him snap his head up in shock. _Rikuo!_

xxxxxx

Night Rikuo had found himself thrust back into Rihan's mind. He thought his dad had wanted to end matoi, so he didn't get why he was still here. Maybe he had to do something special to get back? He didn't know what though - he wished the hanyou would just get back here and show him.

When Rihan did arrive, he looked tense, something which immediately put the youkai on guard.

"This wasn't supposed to happen." Rikuo stated.

"No, it wasn't…" the hanyou confirmed, as he sat down cross-legged near the sakura tree and looked at the youkai. "I might get hell for it later." Rikuo shrugged and went sat down in front of his father, on the other side of a small mahogany table. "Well, I told gramps I'd take responsibility if something like this happened."

Rihan seemed to lose most of his tenseness at that and hummed in appreciation.

A comfortable silence settled between them as they enjoyed the beauty of their environment.

The youkai noticed that red lanterns now hung from some of the cherry blossom's branches. He thought they were a nice addition, since they cast the island in mysterious lights.

Rihan's lips spread into a proud smile when he noticed him looking. "Those are the lanterns we use when we go on Night Parades."

The youkai's eyes widened in understanding. He hadn't recognized the objects at first, because he'd never had the opportunity to participate in a Night Parade. He still recalled the awe he felt when his grandfather had led one of them when he was still a small child, and how he'd been denied participation because he couldn't transform. "Night Parades are magical events, Rikuo…we use them to remind humans that youkai exist," his grandfather had said. "They require supernatural feats, which you still can't do…" He remembered how much his human self had wished he was a youkai then, as he watched their grandfather fade into the distance, followed by an endless line of ayakashi.

"I'm going to lead the next one." Rikuo said determinedly to both himself and Rihan.

Rihan looked at him, surprised. "You aren't the clan head..." he reminded Rikuo.

The youkai glanced at him. "I know that," he said, then fell silent. Rihan supposed he was working out a way to convince the old man. "If you do manage it, I'll support you." he stated firmly.

Amazed wine-red eyes looked at him in gratitude, "Thank you…"

_'Dad…'_

xxxxxx

Nurarihyon tensely watched Rikuo's unconscious body; he'd taken Rikuo back to his room and gently laid him in his futon after Rihan had left. Even though the matoi had ended several hours ago, his grandson still hadn't woken up or changed back into his night form. This was incredibly worrying since Rikuo had never stopped the transformation after he'd accepted his other self.

"Rikuo!" Nurarihyon exclaimed immediately when he felt him stir. His grandson slowly opened his eyes and blinked several times, eventually focusing on his grandfather's face. "Are you alright?" Nurarihyon asked. Rikuo didn't answer. He tried to sit up but hissed when a sharp stab of pain shot through him. Nurarihyon noticed immediately and gently eased him back down.

Rikuo opened his mouth to speak, then suddenly stopped and frowned. His eyes flicked back and forth as he concentrated on something with an increasingly nervous expression spreading over his face. "Rikuo! What's wrong?" Nurarihyon demanded.

"He's gone…!" Nurarihyon looked at him in confusion. Was he talking about Rihan? "I can't feel him anymore-he's gone!" Rikuo said again, his voice going higher with panic. His grandfather suddenly realized that Rikuo was talking about his youkai form. The matoi might've permanently damaged his grandson.

He clenched his fists so hard that his knuckles turned white. How could he have allowed that _impostor_ so close to his beloved grandson? What would he do if Rikuo never recovered, if he never got his youkai form back? His hyakki would never accept a human as its leader! Rikuo would have lost his future and he…he might even be forced to disown him... A pained cry brought his attention back to Rikuo. His heart seized as he watched him grab the sheets of the futon and twist around as the pain intensified. It had barely been a prickle at first but now it was constant and intense.

"Rikuo!" he shouted in panic, but his grandson was in too much pain to respond. When Rikuo started screaming and writhing in agony, Nurarihyon felt his growing panic transform into searing anger.

How dare he! How _dare _he hurt his grandson so much! He'd given that bastard so many chances, and this, _THIS _was what he did! He'd make him _pay! _And he'd_ tear some answers from his bleeding throat!_

Another scream from Rikuo accompanied Nurarihyon as he stormed out of the room.

xxxxxx

Rihan snapped back into awareness when he felt mist begin to envelop the room. The lights darkened and the air became colder, then a soft thrum spread throughout. He slowly, imperceptibly changed positions so that he'd be able to spring up in a second, but not let the enemy know that he was alert. Had they finally decided to dispose of him, who they thought was an impostor? It was incredibly cowardly to attack him while he was imprisoned…

He scanned the room, taking care not to move his eyes. There was nothing amiss with it, but he became aware that Kurotabou and Kubinashi were no longer outside. They weren't the ones attacking him though, he was sure of it. He tightened his grip on the sword he hid inside his kinagashi (1) and sharpened his senses as far as they could go. Whoever was attacking him was good at hiding - incredibly good. They also had an intimate understanding of how youkai fought; this feeling of not knowing where an enemy was made him extremely nervous, which could easily give way to fear. And as soon as a youkai began to fear his opponent, it was over.

Rihan felt a chill go down his spine. He instantly spun away from his previous position, noticing a deep cut suddenly appear right where he had been. This guy might be one of the toughest opponents he had ever faced.

He had barely managed to avoid that hit…there was no time to play around.

Rihan activated his fear and drew Nenekirimaru.

With the complete activation of his fear, he could now dimly sense the other's - which he swore he'd felt before…but it dispersed before he could recognize it.

The temperature rose, the mist faded and the room brightened. Rihan's fear evaporated and he almost dropped Nenekirimaru in shock as he saw whose fear it was… the attacker was the shrivelled old man?

He was about to demand why he'd been attacked, when he noticed the old man's livid face. "What did you do to my grandson?" Nurarihyon demanded in a bone chilling tone. His eyes pierced Rihan's and warned him not to say anything but the truth. Rihan began sweating - this was exactly why he hadn't wanted to perform matoi with Rikuo in the first place!

"I didn't do anything!" he exclaimed. Rikuo had accepted the full responsibility, and the old man even agreed to it. He couldn't say it was his fault now!

The glare Nurarihyon was giving him could've killed an entire Hyakki Yakou. Rihan barely stopped himself from uttering a loud and embarrassing "Eeep!"

When Nurarihyon took a step closer, Rihan started talking. He didn't want to be ripped to shreds by this terrifying old man! He hurriedly recounted how Night Rikuo had unexpectedly remained in his mind, even after he'd cancelled the matoi, and how he now seemed to be stuck there, fumbling with his words under the poisonous glare which was boring into him. Rihan didn't dare to mention Rikuo taking full responsibility, in case that enraged the old man further.

The old man began to calm down when Rihan offered all the information he wanted without protesting. His anger was being taken over by anxiety and dread the more he heard. Slowly, he started to notice the symptoms of a sort of disorder which plagued youkai, one that he'd heard about but thankfully never experienced. He'd have to bring the impostor closer to Rikuo once again to prove if it was really the case - and Nurarihyon swore right there that he would personally behead him if he tried to hurt his grandson again. "Come with me," he commanded.

Rihan didn't dare to disobey him.

They walked through the empty hallways silently, then reached a section of the house Rihan was familiar with.

The silence there was eerie and Rihan hoped Nurarihyon would get whatever he wanted done quickly. The room they'd stopped in front was his own - or had been his, since it seemed to belong to someone else now.

As soon as they stopped in front of it, the sliding door opened, seemingly of its own accord. But once he and the old man had gone in, he could see that a cute girl in a white kimono had opened the door for them. Rihan thought she looked a lot like Setsura, the Yuki Onna who had been like a foster mother to him.

Sharp breathing drew his attention to the rest of the room. His eyes soon found the source of the sound…Rikuo. His son's human form was lying in a futon and sweating profusely. Sitting next to him was a man with short, spiky hair in a purple yukata adorned with feather motifs. Rihan guessed he was a member of the Yakushi Clan, and probably a medic too, judging from the cups and medical equipment placed around him.

Nurarihyon had stopped to talk to Tsurara, but was always keeping a very keen eye on the impostor. He was ready to kill him at a moment's notice - as soon as he made one false move...

Tsurara told him that she'd heard Rikuo's screams and had immediately looked for Zen, then rushed with him to Rikuo's room. Zen had tried his best to numb Rikuo's pain but his medicine hadn't had much effect. Then all of a sudden, not very long before they came in, Rikuo started to get better, until he reached his current state just as they entered. It was almost as if his condition had improved the closer Nurarihyon and Rihan had come.

Nurarihyon frowned grimly. It was as he'd thought.

Sometimes, when youkai possessed a human, they became stuck in the human's body. In the usual scenario, the youkai could escape by coming into close contact with another human….but in this case, Rihan would have to get into close contact with _both_ of Rikuo's forms, so that his night self could travel back through him to his proper body. And "close contact" … meant skin-to-skin... _intimacy_…

How could he _suggest _such a thing?

xxxxx

Rihan had gone to sit next to the Yakushi clan member, who had glanced at him but hadn't commented. Their attention was focused entirely on Rikuo; the boy had stopped sweating but his pained expression hadn't left his face. Rihan wanted to reach out and ease his pain, but the constant gaze which bore into his back warned him otherwise. Despite how annoying that was, he thought Nurarihyon was right to be wary of him, as almost all he'd done so far was hurt his grandson.

Rihan felt him approach then - the old man's steps made no sound, yet his aura, even in old age, was bright and powerful. When he stood behind them silently for a long time, the hanyou reluctantly took his eyes off Rikuo to look at him. The old man had a strange expression on his face and he seemed to want to say something, but always stopped at the last minute. His eyes continually shifted from him to Rikuo awkwardly.

Before long, the hanyou lost his patience. "Oi, old man, are you just gonna stand there awkwardly and stare at us, or actually _do _something?" he asked with annoyance, his fear of the old man having worn off. Nurarihyon looked at him scathingly, but Rihan wasn't intimidated this time. He opened his mouth purposefully, then paused, closed it and looked away. Rihan thought he'd actually seen a _blush of embarrassment _on the old man's face before he turned away!

'_Whoa, it must be something pretty awesome for my old man to be _this _embarrassed...I've got to find out what it is!'_

Rihan giddily thought as he turned his entire attention on said old man…who felt a chill run down his spine.

"Heeey old man, watcha hiding?" Rihan said in a sing song tone with a huge smirk plastered across his face. '_Once he answers I'll have enough blackmail to last me a lifetime! '_

Nurarihyon didn't look happy at all with Rihan's smugness. He knew that telling him what he had to do with Rikuo would wipe that huge grin off his face…but howcould he say it, much less allow it! His grandson and that, that man who looked like his son…lying naked….touching each other-

Nurarihyon cut his thoughts off, completely disturbed. No, he couldn't allow this….but then how was Rikuo supposed to get his other self back? ...He groaned. Why couldn't there be another way!

"I swear I saw a blush…what dirty things are you thinking of, you perverted old man?" Rihan continued pestering relentlessly.

Nurarihyon sighed. This had to be done….no matter how much he hated it. Before Rihan could start saying something else, Nurarihyon quickly broke in:

"You…you will take-" Goddamn it, he couldn't say it! It was too embarrassing!

Rihan pounced with vigour on Nurarihyon's sudden stop, '_Oh this was going to be good!' _"I will take what, old man?" he asked with an enormous grin. The old man looked away and grumbled something in embarrassment. "Huh, what? I didn't hear you, say it louder gramps!" Rihan said with a shit-eating smirk. He loved watching his dad squirm! Nurarihyon didn't reply for a while, simmering in his own embarrassment, until he took a deep breath - better to just get it over with. "You will take off your clothes and lie on top of Rikuo. This needs to happen both here and inside your mind, simultaneously."

There…he'd said it.

Rihan stared at him…this was what he was so embarrassed about? Sure it didn't sound pleasant at all - why did he have to take off his clothes, what a pervert! - but it couldn't have caused such embarrassment. There had to be something else."Oi,spit out already, old man. There's no way that couldn't have been everything!"

Nurarihyon looked at him in surprise. Had he not heard the incredibly embarrassing thing he'd been forced to say?…Then realisation dawned on him, he hadn't specified that Rikuo had to be naked too. Damn it, how could he have forgotten! Now he'd have to say it _once again. _He contemplated using _Meikyou Shisui _to disappear out of sight , but then steeled himself. This was for Rikuo.

"You will lie on top of Rikuo" Nurarihyon gathered his wits by repeating himself, "and both of you…will be…" Nurarihyon stopped. It took all of his considerable willpower to continue, "…naked."

All of the room's occupants stared at Nurarihyon, as if his head had suddenly become a normal human shape.

You could hear an ant crawl from miles away in the complete silence which enveloped the room.

Eventually, Rihan managed to gather his wits, "…_What_…did you say…?" he said, so shocked and horrified that he'd forgotten to add the usual "old man" at the end of his sentence.

The other two occupants still stared at the old man in scandalized silence. Rikuo, thankfully, was completely focused into himself and had missed his grandfather's…_order._

_"…_I won't repeat myself." Nurarihyon said firmly and with a tinge of anger. He was completely embarrassed by what he'd been forced to say, not once but _twice._

"…You do remember that…we're father and son…right?" Rihan said in a low voice.

The old man glared at him. _As if he could forget that! …and wasn't this an impostor anyway?_

"You shouldn't be too upset with this, since you're not the real Rihan." he said coldly.

At that, the hanyou became indignant, "…So you mean I have to go through this, because you think I'm an impostor? I thought you said I was in the clear already!" Rihan exclaimed in anger. "And what about Rikuo, huh? How can you make me do such a thing to him and _why!" _

" You don't matter in this _at all…" _Nurarihyon replied contemptuously, "And don't you dare mention Rikuo, when you're the one who hurt him this much."

When Nurarihyon became aware that Zen and Tsurara were staring at him horrified - they seemed to think he wanted something bad to happen to Rikuo, he explained himself, "This will get Rikuo's night form back into his body." They nodded in understanding but still looked at him strangely.

Rihan couldn't help but feel hurt at the old man's tone. His dad - if this was _really _his dad- had never talked to him like that. And what he'd said was true. He _had _hurt Rikuo…and if this would help him…

"…I'll do it." He said grudgingly. The old man turned towards him and nodded.

Zen and Tsurara were really uncomfortable by now. After Zen had swiftly undressed Rikuo and given his clothes to Tsurara, they quickly excused themselves and rushed out of the room, not wanting to be caught up in further drama. They prayed for their young master.

xxxxx

Meanwhile, in Rihan's mind, Rikuo's youkai form had been watching him idly as he dozed - all of his attention was focused outside. All of a sudden, the hanyou sat up with an agitated expression spread over his face. The youkai looked at him. "Oi… what happened?" Rihan didn't answer though; he appeared to be pointedly avoiding looking at his son.

''How the hell can I tell him about it when it's so fucking embarrassing?' the hanyou thought anxiously. Unfortunately, he'd said he'd do it, so he couldn't back out now, however much he wanted to. He started constructing a speech and gathering his courage in order to tell Rikuo, in the best possible way, what his grandfather had ordered him to do.

"Ah - well … your grandfather suggested a way to let you leave my mind," he began slowly, then gained confidence. "He said… and I quote, '…You will lie on top of Rikuo, and both of you will be naked.' …"

Rikuo stared at him. "That's ridiculous." Rihan's nervous expression made him pause. "It's a joke, right?" he asked, hoping his father would say yes. The hanyou slowly shook his head, averting his eyes in complete embarrassment. He couldn't believe the old man had suggested such a thing! Wasn't there any other way? …probably not. This had to be the only way - his old man would never have suggested something like this except as a last resort.

"… and this is the only way to get back…" Rikuo muttered hopelessly at last, coming to the same conclusion as his father. He took a deep breath and steeled himself, repeating _'It will be over quickly…'_ as a mantra in his head. Slowly he began to take off his yukata, prompting Rihan to do the same - equally as reluctantly.

xxxxx

"Come on, do we have to take everything off completely? It's really… disconcerting… especially with you watching, old man!" The hanyou had obviously regained some of his former bravado, and Nurarihyon glared at him. "The only reason I'm watching is to make sure you don't _try anything,_" he retorted flatly.

Rihan sighed and continued stripping off his clothing. It seemed the old man wouldn't let him off. When he was wearing nothing but his fundoshi, he tried again. "Do we really_, really _have to-"

"Alright, leave it!" Nurarihyon growled, really not wanting to go into the details. This was already _way _out of his comfort zone. The hanyou shrugged and moved closer to the futon, inwardly grimacing. This was going to be embarrassing.

He gingerly pulled back the covers and awkwardly laid his torso over Rikuo's, hoping it'd be enough and Rikuo's youkai would return. No such luck - nothing happened. Feeling the old man's gaze on his back - what a pervert - Rihan unenthusiastically shifted his body until it was completely on top of his son's. He could feel Rikuo's heartbeat; it was faint and fluttery which was worrying… his skin was also uncharacteristically warm, not a good sign. The hanyou felt blood rising to his cheeks… _'God damn it, hurry up…!_

* * *

><p>(1) Rihan's outer kimono, the striped green one. It was called this in the manga: ch148, page 8.<p>

_Notes:_

_Please R&R! We love getting reviews :)_

**_Important:_**

_**Allen and I are both really busy right now and we won't have time to work on the fic, so this will be the last chapter we post for a while. Sorry to everyone who is eager to read more.**_


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